[size=150]The Will of the Ancients Forums - Solo’s FAQs and Guidelines[/size]

[Last Updated: 2nd of December, 2009]

When trying to sign up for the forums, I get the message ‘Sorry but this username is taken’ after I confirm that I’m over 13 years old. I haven’t even entered a username yet, so what’s happening?

This is a problem we are aware of but only have a temporary fix for so far. Please contact either Solo Wing Dragon, Geoffrey Duke or Shadow by email or instant message and we’ll sort it out for you. Alternatively, you can run our script yourself which should resolve the problem.

I can’t log out!

As with the above problem, either contact one of us, or run the script. Alternatively, deleting your web browser cookie for this site will log you out. This is a known issue with the phpBB software, and will only happen occasionally.

What, if any, are the forum rules? Can I post anything here?

Not quite. The Will of the Ancients’ web host - Webfaction - has an Acceptable Use Policy that prohibits various types of content from being posted here. There are two statements which sum up Webfaction’s policy which relate to the operation of these forums:

Transmission, distribution or storage of any material in violation of any applicable law or regulation is prohibited. This includes, without limitation, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property right used without proper authorization, and material that is obscene, defamatory, constitutes an illegal threat, or violates export control laws.
Transmission, distribution or storage of any adult material. This includes, without limitation, all pornography, erotic images, or otherwise lewd or obscene content.*

We would like to ask members not to post links to pornography, warez software, copyrighted media files, or websites which promote any kind of illegal behavior. Also, blatant spamming is strongly discouraged. If you wish to share this kind of content on the Internet, there are other websites for doing so.

Besides the above, are there any other rules?

Not really. Obviously irrelevant posts, flaming, trolling, and other typical forum misbehaviours are discouraged, although not necessarily enforced. If a moderator sees a post or topic to be getting out of hand, the thread will either be locked, or the inappropriate posts will be removed/edited, at the sole discretion of the moderator at hand. If you feel that your post was edited or deleted unfairly, please send a private message to Solo Wing Dragon with a link to the topic in hand and a list of reasons as to why you feel that you were treated unfairly.

There are three separate forums. What exactly are the differences between each one?

The Seekers’ Stronghold: This forum is for Panzer Dragoon discussion. Topics shouldn’t be made here that have nothing to do with Panzer Dragoon, although it’s fine to mention other things in passing. Due to the fact that all of the Panzer Dragoon games have been out for a while now it’s fine to post unmarked spoilers from any of the four games on this board.

The Village of Cainus: All discussion of computer and video games besides Panzer Dragoon should go here. It is a good idea to clearly mark spoilers for all games, regardless of the time period when they were released.

The Village of Zoah: This forum is for causal conversation and off topic discussion. Zoah is a good place to post your first message and to basically chat with other members. Some of the topics that can be expected to found here are more serious off topic discussions, for example a current issue in the news. It’s alright to go off topic here (that’s natural) so long as the post is in some way relevant to the original topic, especially in serious topics.

What are the maximum sizes for avatars and signatures?

Avatars should be no bigger than 100 by 100 pixels. Signatures should be no higher than 100 pixels and no wider than 550 pixels. This is to avoid lengthy download times for users, to save screen space, and also to prevent a horizontal scroll bar from appearing when forum members are using 800*600 resolutions, or have their web browser resized to 800 pixels wide. It is important that members take the time to resize their avatars and signatures to the correct sizes to avoid causing extra hassle for the moderators of The Will of the Ancients, but if this doesn’t happen then the moderators may resize or, in extreme situations, remove them.

If I post an image or URL in a thread, what is the maximum size that it can be?

Images should be no wider than 550 pixels, and no higher than 750 pixels. Similarly a URL (a link to a website) or a long stream of text shouldn’t be posted so that the borders of the forum are pushed further apart than the width of the forum banner (displaying various Panzer Dragoon characters). If a URL is too long to fit on the page without disrupting the layout (by making a horizontal scroll bar appear in 800*600 resolutions) then it should be placed within URL tags. As with signatures of avatars, members should take every step to ensure that images and links in their posts are formatted to the correct size to ensure the best experience for all users of The Will of the Ancients. If this is not done then the moderators of The Will of the Ancients may resize or, in extreme situations, remove them.

What is a URL tag and how do I use it?

A URL tag is a piece of bulletin board code that can be used to create a word or series of words that can be clicked on to access a remote web page or file. For example, the user would click on the text “Search Engine” instead of clicking on “http://www.yahoo.com”. Typing something similar to the following in a post makes use URL tags:

I have questions about features of this forum, where can I go to find out about it?

The phpBB2 FAQ answers a lot of general questions about the forums, so it?s likely your question will be there. If you still have questions you could try the help forums on their website.

Ok, with the invasion of the twits been and gone, I think it’s time for a more user-aimed set of “rules”, more suggestions really, inspired by Shadow Corp’s rules.

Don’t be a dumbass. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t jump in with a lot of crap! It’s just NOT COOL.

Don’t take it personal. We flirt a lot, we cuss each other a bit…think a public house on a friday night and you’ll get the general idea.

Post counts mean precisely nowt. Just because you have a lot to say doesn’t mean it’s worth listening to. And it only gets worse when you have a lot of nothing to say - and say it constantly.

We are not a haven for teenybopper AOL/IRC morons. Abbrev.s like “lol” and “rofl” are permitted, because “ha ha” looks boring if no other reason, but don’t post entire posts in l33t speak with a hundred acronyms if you can help it. Unless it’s a joke aimed at somebody, in which case, we’ll let it pass.

Women are people too. So treat them like people. We flirt, but that’s all we do. Do not pester the girls on this forum, or you will have to face me in a trial by combat.

Smilies are good. In small amounts. Try not to use more than 5 in one post, as a guideline. That includes smilies, smilies and everything else you can think of.

We’re Panzer fans. Coming onto our forum and dissing us on this is not recommended. That’s what got Azel banned, and it could happen to you, too.

Don’t you be overstepping your boundaries. If you’re new to the forums, don’t burst in all guns blazing demanding to know everybody at once, what we eat for breakfast, how many notches are on our bedposts, and any other intimate information. We are a tight community, but we each have our own friends on here. If we don’t tell you what we got up to the other night, don’t be offended.

We mock Gehn because of a joke he played on us once. It’s in good humour. Don’t dive in and make it harsh on the boy.

I’m not a mod. That’s just my title. It’s an in-joke, so you probably won’t get it and therefore won’t be interested. So don’t ask me to delete posts.

We’re all horny bastards really, but that’s no reason to bring it up on this forum. Explicit sexual content really isn’t necessary on this forum. If you want to talk dirty, or ask questions about your anatomy, then head over to bolt.com.

Ok, with the invasion of the twits been and gone, I think it’s time for a more user-aimed set of “rules”, more suggestions really, inspired by Shadow Corp’s rules.

I think these are good guidelines, and it would be worth pointing people towards them if they want to know what kind of behaviour is appreciated around here.

As for adding them to the official rules - well, the problem there is that people aren’t necessarily going to obey them. It’s just not in some people’s character, and although it would be nice if they were obeyed, you’re always going to get new people signing up who are used to talking in l33t speak on forums, or asking an insane amount of questions about people’s private lives. I don’t think it’s the mods’ ‘duty’ to force the way people behave unless it’s something serious like [true] spamming or posting pornography.

Saying that, I’ll go back to my original post - they are, for the most part, extremely valid guidelines, and I think they should be shown to anyone who may not being getting into the swing of this community…

Good idea, Scott. The rules actually need refining, so sometime in the future I’ll correct the things that aren’t valid anymore, as well as linking them to the phpBB rules or FAQ. And trim the Liberal District too.

Updated again. I’ve added a link to these FAQs/Guidelines in the top navigation, now called “Solo’s FAQs and Guidelines” so that people can bitch and moan at me if they don’t like them.

Just a few changes to the text really. Some minor wording updates. The Village of Cainus has been added to the differences between the forums question, and more emphasis has been added to the parts which discuss the resizing of links and images.